The Bruises…Went Unnoticed
Generational Evangelical Abuse
“The bruises from abuse went unnoticed by people” --Miriam Anderson
“I will never stop preaching the Bible.” –Steven Anderson
Recently, three children of “hate pastor” Steven Anderson have come out and discussed the abuse they suffered at the hands of both their “Evangelical” parents.
Anderson is vitriolic and preaches something called Independent Fundamentalist Baptist theology. He has a history of anti LGBTQ rants and celebrated the slaughter at the Pulse nightclub. Anderson has been deplatformed from most social media and at one point was banned in 35 countries across the globe due to his hateful rhetoric.
The children have now appeared on several podcasts on YouTube talking about the severe abuse they suffered at the hands of their father (and mother) including beatings with an electrical cord. Daughter, Miriam, said that her father had told them that they “were created for him,” his wife and children were ‘created’ for him, and he had the right to do whatever he wanted because these humans were created ‘for him.’ Beating his children with an electrical cord is his Godly right.
If you watch clips of Steven Anderson, you can see that he is seriously unhinged. He goes on screaming rants regularly, not simple fire and brimstone stuff but insane yelling of a power-tripping Evangelical pastor. LGBTQ=Let God Burn Them Quickly
In interviews with the children, you can see that they have been traumatized. The daughter, Miriam, is well-spoken and highly intelligent but shows clear signs of PTSD. Their father has denied all the allegations and claims that his children are “wicked” and have been corrupted by Satan.
It is safe to say that Steven Anderson is himself a victim of abuse. He “acts out” the pattern of someone who has been traumatized and never done any work around those wounds. He says: “It’s a sin not to beat your kids.”
This hearkens back to Talia Lavin in her book Wild Faith where she discusses the generational abuse that has been passed on in the Evangelical community for over a century.
“Along the way, preachers and ministers began emphasizing that a man of God is a warrior—not just in the spiritual but sometimes in the literal sense. You can see it in the ways the evangelical Right embraces law enforcement—a cross and a Thin Blue Line flag are common lawn ornaments—and a military-first foreign policy; you can see it in the ways Christian movements are often married with showy acts of violence, as when, in protest of a marketing campaign that utilized a popular trans woman influencer, conservative Christian commentators videoed themselves shooting up cases of Bud Light with machine guns.” –Talia Lavin
The Darkness of Project 2025
It is critical to understand how this history of Evangelical abuse ties into the Heritage Foundation, the Council For National Policy, the “CNP” and Project 2025.
Remember that: “The head of the dangerous Heritage Foundation (the group behind Project 2025) is Kevin Roberts, member of Opus Dei. The man financing the entire operation is Leonard Leo, the head of the Federalist Society, also a member of Opus Dei. Seeing a trend?”
The Catholic (dark money) cult known as Opus Dei are people that self-flagellate. Abuse is commonplace. In fact, it is all about ABUSE.
Project 2025 has been called Sadistic Populism, in the sense that it is not about any ideology or making things better for the country. Its sole purpose is to punish the wicked, the unbelieving secularists and their Satanic affirming of sinful lifestyles such as homosexuality and ‘women having power.’ Sinister Forces.
“T***p, for example, described his political campaign in June 2024 as an “epic struggle to liberate our nations from all of the sinister forces who want to destroy them.” These “sinister forces” typically include everything from the media and international organizations to mainstream science and immigrants.” -- Gábor Scheiring: The Conversation
There is no rule of law, there are no guardrails. All power goes to the Dear Leader. In their eyes, America was “created for them.” Where have we heard that before?
The entire coalition of the CNP are Talibangelical extremists, raised in the Evangelical environment of physical and emotional abuse and the belief that “the man” has a direct link to God and is simply performing God’s Will when he “corrects” his children. Sadistic Populism
“For most of us, whether survivors of childhood abuse or those who survived other significant traumas, we often expect evil to be obvious - the evil guy in the dark alley or the powerful dictator over an evil movement or nation or organization. However, as we head into Mike Cosper's "The Church in Dark Times: Understanding and Resisting the Evil That Seduced the Evangelical Movement," we are reminded that malevolence is often more subtle and kept alive by our best intentions and seemingly righteous ideas.” -- Book Review: The Church in Dark Times by Mike Cosper
Again, this isn’t about policy, it is about punishment. They will punish America for the sins of “they/them,” whoever the fuck they are. We just know that they are NOT them?
Fuck Kumbaya: Any Way the Wind Blows
This Sadistic Populism’s motto may as well be “Any way the wind blows,” or perhaps “Nothing really matters.” No mercy, no quarter. Everything they hate will be labeled as the “Deep State.”
Yoga studios? Deep state. Books that discuss race? Deep State. No-fault divorce? Deep State. Children’s “rights?” Deep State. LGBTQ? Deep State. Trans? Deep State. Abortion? Deep State.
“I never intended to become a religion reporter. Yet for years now, my imagination, my workday, has been consumed by people who suffered much more than having disappointing Scripture quoted at them. They were abused by their church or pastor, or by their family justifying harm as Christlike and necessary.” -- Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning
In the deeply ingrained pattern of Evangelical abuse, they will take an electrical cord and beat the Satanic forces out of America.
It is sad. This could have been a “Come to Jesus” moment for the Evangelical community. They have been rocked by scandal after scandal of physical and sexual abuse and are clearly a broken and disturbed culture.
Rather than examining the wounds of their history, they will lash out against anyone who dares to point out to them that they are acting out of those wounds.
As Rumi told us: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
Steven Anderson could have accepted his children’s pain; he could have done something to break the cycle of abuse. But like the CNP and the Heritage Foundation, they will hide behind Bible verses while they vomit their brokenness on America.
“Trauma is any harmful event or series of circumstances that leave a lasting impact on your mental, physical, social, spiritual, or emotional well-being. It is also the response to a deeply distressing event that overwhelms your ability to cope, causing feelings of hopelessness, and diminishing your sense of self. Sounds a lot like growing up in evangelicalism doesn’t it?” –The Sophia Society: Recovering From Evangelicalism